Office space isn’t exactly cheap these days. Organizations are looking for ways to get the most from their square footage, especially in cramped IT rooms and closets.

Most everybody has discovered that wall-mount rack enclosures are a great way to fit more IT gear in a room with no more available floor space. (See our blog post on the benefits of wall enclosures here.) But there is another product that allows you to truly maximize what little space you might have left: vertical wall enclosures.

Wall-Hugging Top-Loaders

A vertical rack is top-loading – it turns your components 90 degrees so that they face the ceiling. In such an orientation they do not stick out from a wall some 2 or 3 feet like horizontal racks do. A 2U vertical enclosure extends only about 5 inches and an 8U needs less than 12. And yet they are tall enough (up to 36 inches in NavePoint’s line of verticals) to hold your deepest components.

But vertical wall enclosures are not always the right choice. Whether your next wall cabinet should be horizontal or vertical depends on the features you need. This blog post describes three big advantages of each type of wall enclosure. We hope this makes it easier for you to decide which is best for your needs. We conclude with some information about our line of vertical models.

3 Vertical Wall-Mount Advantages:

• Space Efficiency: Vertical enclosures utilize wall space effectively. They not only free up floor space but can be installed where horizontal wall racks do not fit. For example, vertical racks are low-profile enough to be often found in hallways, IT closets, and retail spaces.
• Accessibility: Swing open the enclosure door and you can immediately access the front and rear of your components to get to the cable ins and outs. It is not quite as easy to reach the rear of most horizontal enclosures.
• Aesthetics: Looks count. Vertical enclosures have a sleek and compact design, which can contribute to a more aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking installation. They help keep the equipment organized and visually appealing, particularly in environments where the rack is visible or in customer-facing areas.

3 Horizontal Wall-Mount Advantages

• More Size Choices: Because horizontal racks are more commonly used than vertical, there is a greater selection of sizes, a better chance at finding the odd size you might need. For instance, NavePoint’s horizontal wall-mount line comes in 13 different RU capacities, while our vertical models come in 6.
• More Weight Capacity:While NavePoint’s vertical enclosures can hold up to 150 pounds of equipment, some of our horizontal models hold up to 200 pounds.
• Equipment Monitoring: Many of our horizontal cabinets come with a tempered-glass door that allows you to visually monitor the components inside.

NavePoint’s Vertical Wall Enclosures

NavePoint’s selection of more than two dozen vertical wall enclosures can help you get the most use of the space in your data center or IT closet. Our customers are using them to hold their servers, switches, patch panels, and much more.

Key Features:

• Size options to fit your room, from 2U to 8U of capacity and 16 to 36 inches of depth
• Low-profile design is good for a back office, closet, retail location, etc.
• Enough weight capacity, at up to 150 pounds, to hold all your gear
• Secure your gear with 16-gauge steel cabinets and anti-theft locks
• Keep components cool with vented panels for circulation
• Easy installation with pre-assembled cabinets and included mounting hardware

NavePoint’s vertical wall enclosures are in stock and available with FREE standard same-day shipping.

Summary

Vertical wall-mount rack cabinets are incredibly space-efficient, can be installed just about anywhere, and offer instant accessibility to the front and back of your components. They also look great in a professional business environment. On the other hand, horizontal enclosures come in more sizes, can take on a bit more weight, and allow visual monitoring. Which benefits are most important to you?

Questions? Need recommendations? Contact our U.S.-based team of experts at 1-866-312-5401 or email us at sales@navepoint.com.